Who ya gonna call? Bee busters!

I was so proud of myself that I was able to plant and somewhat maintain a garden with vegetables this year.  On Friday, I decided to water my cucumbers as they aren't growing very well.  It seems like everyone around me has great cukes and mine are about the size of those sweet baby gherkin pickles.  That would be okay if I knew how to make pickles, but seeing that I don't, summer is almost over (sigh) and I really want cucumbers, I decided to try watering them.   (Novel idea, I know).  Well, as I was watering the cucumbers, I got stung by a honeybee.  OUCH!!  I didn't think much of it, but Friday night we had friends over and two of them got stung.  As we looked to where the kids were playing, I noticed that I have honeybees living between the boards that surround my garden.  Great.  Just what I need!  I have a child that is allergic to just about everything.  There's no way I'm going to let him play around them until I get rid of those bees.  I spoke with my step-mom and she suggested that I call the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.   The Cooperative Extension is a department of the University who's goal is to put the practical research being done at the University out into the community as a public service since UMaine is a public land grant university.  I'm hoping that someone in agriculture or gardening and horticulture might want my bees.  Maybe they will remove my honeybees and then they can take them some place to pollenate someone else's crops.

I never would have thought of calling the University to take advantage of this resource if it wasn't for my mom.  I wonder how often we do that as people.  We have a problem, the solution is right in front of us and we just don't know where to go or what questions to ask to get the answers.  I know that I am often that way with God.  I have a problem and I don't take advantage of Him as my first resource.   I try to do it all myself first.  I think, "I can handle this.  I can solve this myself."  Invariably, I make an even bigger mess of the problem when I do this, however, if I pray and leave the solution to God, He always finds a much better way to solve the problem than I ever could.  Over the last several months, I have been presented with many, many problems.  Because I didn't have a clue how to handle them, I often went to the Lord the first thing.  It has literally blown my mind at how God has solved so many problems for me.  Things just fell into place, resources were found and people crossed my path that had specific knowledge to help me with my problems.  It has really taught me to step out in faith more.  God is an amazing problem solver if we just have faith to trust Him with our issues.  Now, that doesn't mean that you should just sit back and let God do everything.  For example, if you have a leaky faucet, you shouldn't just sit around the house eating chocolate thinking that God will fix the faucet for you, but you should pray, make some effort to find someone to help or to figure out how to do it yourself and God will be sure you have the resources.

I'm so glad that I serve a God is interested in helping me with even the smallest details of my life.  He certainly is an awesome God who wants us to have all we need.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  ~James 1:5